DAY ZERO

The first morning we met near the tower, and everything was still very surreal. My mom and grandparents (and puppy!) came to listen in on the ride dedication circle (which was especially emotional). We got a police escort (my first ever!) to the capitol to take pictures, and then again on the way to our awesome sponsor bike shop - Jack and Adam's! One of my best friends, Steph, came out there to say bye one last time :)

We only had to ride 35 miles that day, but somehow they managed to fit a really intense hill into that 35 miles - Scotland Well - my most intense hill ever. Krisztina Petz was the biggest help, and I'm quite sure I might not have made it up that hill if it weren't for her! I believe she said, "Allie, this is the actual ride, you HAVE to make it up the hill!" With that, I conquered it.

That night we stayed in Running Brushy Middle School, and shuttled to the Oasis for one last goodbye. In addition to my mom and grandparents, Ashley, Andreah, Kristina, Taylor, Morgan, and Jon all came out to have drinks and just generally be awesome -- I love y'all!! Then we were exhuasted and crashed out.

ATLAS - DAY ONE

We woke up at, I think 5? For those of you who don't know, ATLAS is the first official day of the ride and anyone can register and come ride 25, 50 or 70 miles with the team! It's followed by an awesome BBQ/beer/wine/live music even afterward at a winery in Lampasas. The team did the 50 miler, with exception only to, I believe, Dan Walk. Good job, Dan! My roommate, Hollis,' mom came out to ride with me - but she went on to do the 70 :) Thanks for coming out! The even after was a lot of fun, but really hot, so by the time the sun went down, we were all ready to hit the shower and our sleeping bags!

The 2009 team came to camp out with us, give us a pep talk, share some advice, and teach us the haka (the warrior chant we all do every morning before we ride). Thanks 2009! Talking to them got me really excited because their love for this organization and their experience was so apparent; they all said that they wanted to go with us again this year - that has to be a good sign, right?

Also a highlight of the evening - Jack found a tarantula ... and picked it up ... and put it on his head ... EW. The 2009ers were confident at this point that he would be juussssst fine on the Rockies route. I think I have a little way to go.

DAY TWO

Lampasas to Stephenville.

We woke up to an amazing breakfast cooked by the 2009 team, and then had a really great, really long ride dedication circle, after which we learned the awesome haka. We then had a (very) tearful goodbye as the team split into two and we both went our separate ways (bye Sierra, we miss you!).

We started our first ride as a Rockies team by going the wrong direction for about 15 miles - oops! But we handled the speed bump well, and for that I love my teammates. The rest stops were greatly appreciated - and very entertaining! (Digression: Shilen wears a Superman cape while he rides...everyday. Today he even found a green one with $ signs and has also packed an extra. He now has 3 capes. He went down a hill and got a flat tire. His reaction? "I was so busy saving the world, I forgot to look at the road." hahaha)

DAY THREE

Stephenville to Dallas.

This was a short ride day - only about 50 miles! We did have a pretty awesome rest stop, though, where Kate Petty had us draw animal names from a hat and then we had to act like that animal the entire time we were at the rest stop until someone guessed what we were. We couldn't leave until someone guessed. Let's just say that Jack really really loved this game and he ended up taking everyone else's animal to act out. Mine animal was a baboon. He took this one pretty far, hahaha.

We couldn't ride all the way into Dallas because our host (Brittany's parents) lived in the middle of the city, so we had to be SAGed in. [SAG stands for support and gear, and it consists of two vans, one pulling a trailer.] Once we got there, the guys all stayed with Brittany's dad and all the girls stayed with Brittany's mom. Her mom had the most adorable, homey house I think I may have ever seen! She had cake balls (which were amazing!) waiting for us when we got there with lemonade, and I think being there really made us all feel a lot less homesick :)

That night, the alumni threw us a pool party and dinner! (More specifically, Javier) It was amazing and we all had a ton of fun chicken fighting in the pool and getting to know each other and past riders better! It was a late night and another early morning on the way.

DAY FOUR

Dallas rest day.

Even though it was a rest day, we still woke up at 6:30 to make it to a middle school in time to give a presentation [1/3 or our mission is to spread knowledge, so we give presentations about our organization and cancer awareness/prevention].

Then we had a lunch in the park and celebrated Rosie's birthday! Complete with cake smashed in the face, sandwiches and frisbee throwing, it was a lot of fun. We went straight to Southwestern Medical after that for a tour of the facilities - which are amazing and way beyond my comprehension. We had an hour break (which I napped during) and then we had to be at a happy hour fundraising event nearby. Another presentation was given there and we got to talk to a lot f people who were interested in the organization.

When we got back, Brittan's mom had an amazing dinner of fajitas for us and cake! Did I mention that she has the cutest house ever? There's been so much food on this trip that I don't even have time to think about being hungry. Her mom even did laundry for us as we slept, and had another amazing breakfast ready for us at 5am! :)

Every day I think that the ride dedication and the haka have meant more and more to me. There was an adorable neighbor boy there (about 5) who made a big banner with our route and traced the states and it said "Good luck Texas 4000" and then above us there were 2 stick figures. One was labeled God, and the other was labeled Millie, his grandmother who just died from cancer. It was the cutest thing ever. Thanks Jackson!

DAY FIVE

We had another 90+ mile day today, and the first 20 out of Dallas seemed to take forever because we had to go out through the city with the vans behind us. I think the first 20 took us almost as long as the last 70+.

It's been really fun riding as a team, and the guys on our team have been really great about not riding super fast ahead of us. I've ridden with almost everyone on the team already. (Digression: we have the coolest people ever on our team. The guys are so sweet, always let us eat first, and typically don't hammer away at the front of the pack. All the girls are awesome, too, and it's going to be a drama-free, but really hilarious summer.)

It rained for part of the time today, but it actually felt amazing, and it cooled the air down just enough to make things pleasant. We have a trash to treasure program started already, and I made my contribution by picking up an old Texas license plate and carrying it a good 15 miles to the trailer. Wilson got a shocking 5 bungee cords off the highway today already! I saw a Barbie doll, but was going too fast to stop :(

We got to Lindsay high school and played volleyball for a while (instead of showering, sorry I have priorities, haha). Then we went to a community member's house - AMAZING! They had an awesome 3 story barn with a pool table, two giant BBQ pits, and a really great dinner ready for us :) The boys thought it necessary to shoot each other with airsoft guns, and while I was a little bit curious as to how painful it actually was, something stopped me from letting them shoot me point blank. Probably a good call once I saw all the welts on their backs.

AND...now I'm exhausted so I'm going to turn in for the night. We have another 70-something tomorrow and then 120 on Friday into Oklahoma City for another rest day! Whoohoo! Not enough sleep or free time, but it's already sizing up to be an absolutely great summer. I can't wait to start camping! :)

This week I rode for: Andreah, my gramma, and Pat Fritz's son, who just passed away from cancer. And, as always, for Samer and Ashraf.